Massage
by The Dark Knight's Revenge
Summary: Clary's sore, but has an aversion to massage. Jace wants a massage of his own, but quickly becomes intrigued with convincing Clary to allow him to touch her. Clace!


Clary wrinkled her nose in frustration, scribbling out her latest drawing and absently rubbing a sore spot on her neck. She tried to draw a shadowhunter rune again, but quickly became distracted by the aches in her shoulder and back. She'd been in the library for ages now, contorted into her chair.

Abandoning her sketches, Clary twisted in her chair, growling as nothing popped. She tried her neck. No go. That was frustrating.

"That's what you get for sitting there all hunched over for hours at a time." Came a familiar voice from the doorway.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Clary replied, setting down her pencil and rubbing her eyes. She heard Jace's light footsteps draw closer.

"What were you drawing?" He asked, hovering behind her.

"Just some runes so I could try and memorize their shape." She replied.

Clary suddenly became aware of Jace's fingertips gently brushing the nape of her neck.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"What does it feel like?" He said matter-of-factly. "I'm initiating a massage."

"I don't think that's what I want." She said, tensing up.

"You're sore and tired, and you don't want a massage?" Jace asked, confused.

"I do." Clary said, speaking slowly. "But I don't."

"What?"

"My mom traded a painting for a massage once and let me take the massage for a birthday present. I was eleven, the guy was fifty, let's just say he tried to get frisky. And there were incidents in school; Some guy would grab the back of my neck as he walked past my desk, some girl grabbed my throat, one of Simon's friends tried to use me as a guinea pig for the Vulcan neck pinch. I'm just not really comfortable with people giving me massages."

"Not even Simon?"

"Not even Simon."

"What about Jocelyn?"

"Her, I'd allow on a rare occasion. But she's my mother."

"I see."

His fingers continued to trace her hairline, making small circles on the tender skin.

"Jace..."

The pressure disappeared. He moved to come sit at the table across from her.

"Is there any way I could get you to trust me enough to let me touch you?" He asked, golden eyes intense, as always.

"You could let me give you a massage. Maybe if you let me, then I can let you." Clary replied, sounding more certain than she felt.

Jace studied her, thinking it over.

"Alright."

Clary's eyebrows disappeared into her hair.

"Really? I thought you would refuse." she said.

"I won't look a free masseuse in the mouth." Jace replied. "My place or yours?"

"Now?" Clary squeaked. Jace nodded.

"Um." Clary said. "How about right here?"

Jace thought for a moment.

"How about you give me a sample of your work?"

"What?"

"A sample. I need to know if I can trust you when the time comes for clothes to come off."

"Clothes? Come off?" Clary's voice jumped another octave.

"Yes, Clary. A massage with clothes off. I won't be completely naked though, if that bothers you." Jace said slowly.

"Oh, um, well, yes." Clary stuttered.

"Don't get hung up on the image of me in all my glory. Come here and massage me, Mundane." Jace said lazily. Clary unfolded herself from the chair and stood up, wincing as her back twinged.

Jace stood as well, taking his chair and swinging it around so he could straddle it and lean on the back. Clary positioned herself behind him, staring down at the expanse of his clothed back.

"Remember, I do have a high pain tolerance." Jace said. "You probably can't hurt me."

Clary took a deep breath, then settled her hands, palms down, on his shoulders. Then she slowly moved them down, rubbing flat-handed along the line of his spine.

After she repeated that a couple times, Clary set in on kneading the meaty part of his shoulders, letting her thumbs search for knots in the muscle. Was it her imagination, or did Jace let out a purring sort of groan?

She located a knot next to the line of his shoulderblade and set in on it, using her thumbs to break down the edges of the knot. When the knot undid, she moved to the next one she found.

Clary worked steadily, forgetting all about her own pain and focusing only on Jace's back. She pressed her thumbs along the sides of his spine, working out the tension there, then moved down to his lower back.

With this, Clary shifted her grip, using her weight to add pressure. She was fairly sure that the Shadowhunter beneath her had gone unconscious long ago.

After a while, her hands began to ache from the pressure application, so Clary gently began to tap Jace's back all over with her fingertips to stimulate the muscles. He stirred.

"That was not what I was expecting." Jace mumbled, unmoving.

"You owe me one." Clary said, popping her knuckles and picking up her sketchbook.

"You got yourself a deal." Jace said, watching through slitted eyes as the redhead exited the library.


End file.
